Outdoor Swimming Society
The Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS) was founded in 2006 by Kate Rew, author of Wild Swim.[1]
The OSS is the main resource on wild swimming locations and wild swimming safety in the United Kingdom. It acts as an open-to-all central resource for wild swimmers, and aims to encourage people to rediscover the joys of swimming in open, wild water - rivers, lakes, lochs, tarns, ponds, seas.
In 2009, the OSS announced that it was founding a Wild Swimmers' Code, similar in spirit to The Country Code, to encourage safe swimming in wild water. The OSS is engaged in campaigning to keep outdoor lidos and pools open, and to keep seas and rivers clean and swimmable.
The OSS website hosts one of the most comprehensive databases of wild swims in the UK, with locations and descriptions of safe wild swimming locations.[2]
Outdoor Swimming Society members arrange regular meet-ups around the country, as well as a Midsummer Party and December Dip, both of which are held at Parliament Hill Lido, London. Masterclasses with swim coaches are also held round the country.
In 2006/7 the OSS ran the Breaststrokes charity swims in Lake Windermere and the Serpentine, which raised over £150,000 for Cancer Research. The OSS' patrons are Olympic gold medallist Cassie Patten and the author Robert Macfarlane.
References
- Rew, K. (2008). Wild Swim: River, Lake, Lido and Sea: The Best Places to Swim Outdoors in Britain. Guardian Books, London. ISBN 978-0-85265-093-6.
- ↑ Rew, K. (2008). Wild Swim: River, Lake, Lido and Sea: The Best Places to Swim Outdoors in Britain. Guardian Books, London. ISBN 978-0-85265-093-6.
- ↑ The Outdoor Swimming Society, The OSS Wild Swim Map, URL: http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_map [accessed 23 July 2009]